Roller assembly for positioning corner shelf hardware



Oct. 25, 1966 L. L. ANDERSON 3,281,197

ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR POSITIONING CORNER SHELF HARDWARE Filed Sept. 2,1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z I EIQVEIIDTOKQ m lalqgd Lfflnolenron 1 0% /AKJ-4Oq-rToRmEx/ v Oct. 25, 1966 L. L. ANDERSON 3,281,197

ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR POSITIONING CORNER SHELF HARDWARE Filed Sept. 2,l964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (ITTOr-LMEIY/ United States Patent 3,281,197ROLLER ASSEMBLY FOR POSITIONING CORNER SHELF HARDWARE Lloyd L. Anderson,Rockford, Ill., assignor to Amerock Corporation, Rockford, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 394,024 Claims.(Cl. 312-305) This invention relates generally to cabinet hardware andmore particularly concerns a roller assembly for angularly positioning aswinging cabinet.

The primary aim of the invention is to provide an economical easilyadjusted assembly for very closely establishing the closed or normalposition of a swingable ca'binet.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide anassembly of the above character embodying a sturdy, one piece camfollower support that can be easily and economically manufactured.

A collateral object is to provide a support as described above that canbe very finely adjusted since there is little part looseness or play.

It is also an object to provide hardware as characterized above whichconstitutes a particularly compact, although eflicient, assembly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreviewing the following detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of a cabinet assembly employing hardware embodyingthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately along theline 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately along theline 33 in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary plans partially in section showing, inenlarged form, the structure appearing at the center of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective of portions of the hardware otherwise appearingin the other views.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that I do not intend to limit theinvention to that embodiment. On the contrary, I intend to cover allalternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is shown a corner cabinet assembly10 including a frame 11 and a cabinet 12 pivoted in the frame 11 forswinging movement about a vertical axis. The cabinet 12 includes a shelfpanel 13 and an L-shaped front panel 14. The frame 11 includes a base 15rigidly supporting a plurality of vertical members 16 which, in turn,rigidly carry a top member 17. The cabinet assembly 10 is intended forinstallation in a corner with the vertical or front cabinet panel 14being fitted flush with adjacent units.

The lower end of the cabinet 12 is pivoted "by a pin 21 anchored in theshelf 13 and riding in a bearing cup 22 mounted in a plate 23 fixed tothe frame base 15. The upper end of the cabinet 12 is pivoted by a pin25 mounted in a bracket 26 that is fixed to the frame top member 17. Thepin 25 rotatably engages a bearing member 27 that is fixed to thecabinet panel 14.

In accordance with the invention, the cabinet 12 is resiliently held inan angularly adjustable, closed or normal position by the interaction ofa peripherally notched cam 30 and a novelly supported cam followerroller 31. Preferably, the roller 31 is supported on the cabinet 12 andthe cam 30 is fixed on the frame 11. In the illustrated construction,the cam 30 is formed as an integral skirt on the bracket 26 having agenerally annular pc- "ice riphery interrupted by a notch 32 thatreceives the roller 31 and establishes the normal closed position of thecabinet 12.

The roller 31 is journaled on a support 35 which is pivoted by a pin 36on a bracket that, preferably, is defined by arms 37 formed integrallywith the bearing member 27. The support 35 is a one piece member havinga flexible folded portion 40. On one side of the folded portion 40 are apair of flanges 41 journaling the roller 31, and on the opposite side ofthe folded portion are an additional pair of flanges 42 which receivethe support pivot pin 36. An adjusting screw 43 interconnects portionsof the support 35 on opposite sides of the folded portion 40. The screw43 is threaded into a collar 44 formed between the flanges 41 and, atthe opposite end, the screw 43 carries a head 45 having a peripheralgroove 1 .46 that fits into the narrowed portion of a keyhole opening 47formed on the support 35 between the flanges 42. The larger portion ofthe keyhole opening 47 freely receives the-screw head 45 so as tofacilitate assembly. That is, the screw can be threaded into the collar44 until the head 45 passes into the opening 47, whereupon the groove 46is slid into the narrowed portion of the opening 47 so as to establishthe interconnection between the portions of the support 35 on theopposite sides of the folded portion 40.

To bias the roller 31 against the cam 30, a helical spring 50 isanchored over a tongue 51 formed on the support 35 and is compressedagainst a seat 52 on the bracket defining member 27 The parts areassembled so that the line of fold of the folded portion 40, and theaxes of the cabinet 12, the cam 30, the support 35 and the roller 31 areall parallel. Thus, rotation of the cabinet about its pivot pin 25causes the roller 31 to roll freely about the periphery of the cam 30.With the roller 31 received in the cam notch 32 under the biasing forceof the spring 50, the cabinet 12 is resiliently held in a normal, closedposition. Rotation of the cabinet causes the roller 31 to easily rollout of the cam notch 32 with the support 35 swinging about its pivot pin36 against the force of the spring 50.

To adjust the normal closed position of the cabinet 12, the screw 43 isturned with an ordinary screwdriver. With reference to FIG. 5, rotatingthe screw 43 so as to thread it into the collar 44 bends the support 35more sharply about the folded portion 40 so as to swing the roller 31about an approximate radius 55. This shortens the distance between theaxis of the roller 31 and the support pivot pin 36 as, for example,shortening the distance indicated by the arrow 56 to that indicated bythe arrow 57. This change of distance tends to pull the support pivotpin 36 about an arc whose radius is indicated by the arrow 58 and thusthe angular position of the cabinet 12 is varied through the extent ofan angle 59. Rotation of the screw 43 in the opposite directionadjustably rotates the cabinet back in the opposite direction.

Preferably, the axis of the cabinet 12, the axis of the roller 31 andthe line of fold of the folded portion 40 are disposed substantiallyalong a straight line so as to minimize the possible bending effect onthe folded portion 40 by the force exerted by the spring 50. Since theadjustment of the normal cabinet position is achieved by bending aflexible member, it can be seen that a minimum of looseness or playbetween adjacent parts enters into the angular positioning of thecabinet and hence the closed position can be very accurately establishedand maintained. Those familiar with this art will also appreciate thatthe hardware described above may be quite economically manufactured andthat, in assembled relation, it provides a compact and eflicientmechanism.

ing a peripheral notch, a cam follower bracket, means mounting said camand said bracket one on said structure and the other on said cabinet, asupport pivoted on said bracket, a roller journaled on said support,said supporthaving a resilient folded portion between said roller andsaid bracket pivot, an adjusting screw interconnecting portions of saidsupport on opposite sides of said folded portion so that turning thescrew aries the angle of fold and shifts the roller relative to saidsupport pivot, and means biasing said support about its pivot so as tourge said roller against the notched periphery of said cam, the line offold of said folded portion and the axes of said cabinet, said cam, saidsupport and said roller all being parallel.

2. A swingable cabinet assembly comprising, in combination, stationarypivot structure, a cabinet rotatably mounted on said structure, agenerally annular cam having a peripheral notch, a cam follower bracket,means mounting said cam and said bracket one on said structure and theother on said cabinet, a support pivoted on said bracket, a rollerjournaled on said support, said support having a resilient foldedportion between said roller and said bracket pivot, an adjusting screwinterconnecting portions of said support on opposite sides of saidfolded portion so that turning the screw varies the angle of fold andshifts the roller relative to said support pivot, said adjusting screwhaving a peripherally grooved head with the groove being fitted in thenarrow portion of a keyhole opening formed in said support, said openinghaving a portion larger than the diameter of said head so as tofacilitate assembly, and means biasing said support about its pivot soas to urge said roller against the notched periphery of said cam.

3. A swingable cabinet assembly comprising, in combination, stationarypivot structure, a cabinet rotatably mounted on said structure, agenerally annular cam having a peripheral notch, a cam follower bracket,means mounting said cam and said bracket one on said structure and theother on said cabinet, a support pivoted on said bracket, a rollerjournaled on said support, said support having a resilient foldedportion between said roller and said bracket pivot, an adjusting screwinterconnecting portions of said support on opposite sides of saidfolded portion so that turning the screw varies the angle of fold andshifts the roller relative to said support pivot, and means biasing saidsupport about its pivot so as to urge said roller against the notchedperiphery of said cam, said cam axis, said roller axis and said line offold of said folded portion lying substantially in a straight line so asto minimize the eifect of said biasing means on said line of fold.

4. A swingable cabinet hardware assembly comprising, in combination, agenerally annular cam having a peripheral notch, a cam follower bracket,a one piece support pivoted on said bracket, a roller journaled on saidsupport, said support having a resilient folded portion between saidroller and said bracket pivot, an adjusting screw interconnectingportions of said support on opposite sides of said folded portions sothat turning the screw varies the angle of fold and shifts the rollerrelative to said support pivot, and means for biasing said support aboutits p ivot against the notched periphery of said cam.

5. In a swingable cabinet assembly, the combination of, a frame member,a cabinet member, pivot means supporting said cabinet member on saidframe member to turn about a predetermined axis, a cam mounted on one ofsaid members and having a surface encircling said axis and formed with aperipheral notch, a deformable support mounted on the other of saidmembers adjacent said cam, a roller mounted on said support, meansresiliently urging said roller against said surface whereby the rollerlocates the cabinet as it enters said notch, and means operable todeform said support selectively thereby to vary the location of thecabinet when said roller is disposed in said notch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1910 Hughes108105 1/1955 Stoeckl 312238

5. IN A SWINGABLE CABINET ASSEMBLY, THE COMBINATION OF, A FRAME MEMBER,A CABINET MEMBER, PIVOT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID CABINET MEMBER ON SAIDFRAME MEMBER TO TURN ABOUT A PREDETERMINED AXIS, A CAM MOUNTED ON ONE OFSAID MEMBERS AND HAVING A SURFACE ENCIRCLING SAID AXIS AND FORMED WITH APERIPHERAL NOTCH, A DEFORMABLE SUPPORT MOUNTED ON THE OTHER OF SAIDMEMBERS ADJACENT SAID CAM, A ROLELR MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT, MEANSRESILIENTLY URGING SAID ROLLER AGAINST SAID SURFACE WHEREBY THE ROLLERLOCATES THE CABINET AS IT ENTERS SAID NOTCH, AND MEANS OPERABLE TODEFORM SAID SUPPORT SELECTIVELY THEREBY TO VARY THE LOCATION OF THECABINET WHEN SAID ROLLER IS DISPOSED IN SAID NOTCH.